Peg game board



B. JOSEPH PEG GAME BOARD Filed March 9J5, 1951 O O O O 0 l. 0 O

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I V INVENTOR. 566M4f0 ()ZffP/l Patented Oct. 21, 1952 UNITED I STATESPATENT OFFICE 2,614,841 I PEG GAME BOARD Bernard Joseph, Brooklyn, N. Y.Application March 16, 1951, Serial No. 216,005

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a peg game board'for use in playing a game ofskill. i The game comprises a board housing a plurality of depressiblepegs arranged ingroups in successive progression, starting with one pegand ending with a group of six or more. The game is usually played bytwo persons, each of whom in turn depresses one or more of the pegs inany group; ,If any peg of a group is depressed in any play then theremaining pegs of that group are considered as separate groups in thesubsequent play or plays. For example, should the middle peg of thegroup of five be depressed then in following plays the remaining pegs ofthat group are treated as two independent groups until one or more ofthe pegs of such newly formed groups are depressed. While each playermay depress at each turn as many pegs of a single group as he desires,he may not during that turn depress any peg or pegs of any other groupor groups. The game may be played so that the person who depresses thelast upstanding peg is considered either the loser or the winner, asdetermined by the players before starting the game. Generally the personwho depresses the last'peg is considered the loser.

Other variations of the game are possible, for instance, at each turn aplayer may depress as many pegs of any original group as he choosesregardless of whether they are consecutive or not. A further variationis that at each turn each player may depress one, two, or three pegs, ashe desires, without reference to their location on the board, and thegame proceeds until all of the pegs are depressed.

While the game is best adapted to be played by two persons, it may beplayed by three in which case each contestant in his turn has the optionof depressing either one or two pegs.

One object of the invention is to provide a board of novel compact, andsimple construction, housing a, plurality of depressible pegs arrangedin groups, for use in playing the game.

A further object is to provide a board with means for simultaneouslyelevating all of the pegs to their initial raised position after theyhave been depressed.

Another object is to provide easily operable manual means acting on theelevating means to restore the pegs to their original position when thegame is finished.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of theinvention, in which:

Fig. l is a top plan view of a board embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is aside elevational view of the board with the pegs in raisedposition, a part of the board being shown in section as taken on theline 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a similar view with the pegs depressed;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on theline 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

I Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

The game board l0 may be made of wood, plastic, or any other suitablematerial, and in the form shown in the drawing it comprises an elongatedrelatively narrow, lower hollow housing portion I l, preferably having atapered upper end as seen in Figs. 4 and 5, and a substantiallyrectangular upper portion [2 cemented or otherwise secured to the lowerportion. In someinstances, as when made of molded plastic material, thetwo portions may be made in one piece.

The portion I2 has vertical'openings [3 formed therethrough forreception of the pegs I4, the openings being arranged in groups with thespacing between the severalgroups being, preferably somewhatqgreaterthan the spacing between the pegs of each group. As shown the board hasa single peg adjacent to one end, and then in succession groups of two,three, four, five, and six pegs, respectively. I prefer to provide thegame board with twenty-one pegs, although fewer or more pegs may beprovided. I also prefer to color the pegs of the alternate groupsdifferently, for instance those of one group may be white, those of thenext group black, and so on in succession. This is merely for thepurpose of conveniently distinguishing the successive groups from eachother.

Each peg I4 is formed or provided with an enlarged foot l5 to preventthe pegs from falling out of the board if it should be turned upsidedown. A longitudinal groove or channel I6 is formed in the board, asbest seen in Figs. 4 and 5, in which a strip ll of felt, rubber, or thelike is secured in position to bear frictionally on the pegs so as toprovide sufficient pressure to hold them in position when raised but notto prevent them from being depressed manually during play of the game.

An elevator l8, positioned in the housing below the pegs and extendingunder all of them, is mounted to move or slide vertically up and down onpins or rods I9, one located near each end of the interior of the board.A lever 20 having an arm 2| bent at a right angle to its length isdisposed below the elevator in position that the arm 21 can contact thelower face of the elevator, at a point about midway of its length. Thelever has a second bent portion 22 that passes outward through thehousing and that serves as a pivot about which the lever swings. A knobor handle 23 is fixed to the outer end of the lever.

The bottom of the housing may be entirely closed or strips at spacedintervals may extend across it. In any event it is desirable to have astrip or crosspiece 24 located at the bottom immediately under the leverarm 2| to prevent the lever from swinging down below the bottom of theboard.

In operation, after all of the pegs have been depressed on completion ofthe game, the knob is turned to swing the lever upward and thus move theelevator into contact with the feet of the pegs so that as the elevatoris lifted it will raise all of the pegs simultaneously into theiroriginal playing position. After the pegs have been so raised, theelevator falls by gravity away from the feet of the pegs. The structuremay be arranged so that descent by gravity of the elevator will carrythe lever down with it, or as an alternate mode of operation the levermay be swung down away from the elevator to allow the latter o descend.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred form of game board itis to be understood that modifications in its shape and construction maybe made within the scope ofthe invention as hereinabove set forth.

What I claim is:

1. A peg game board comprising a housing having a series of pegreceiving openings arranged in successive groups through its top, aseries of pegs disposed within the housing to move vertically up anddown in said openings, each peg normally having a portion projectingabove the top of the housing and adapted tobe depressed substantially tothe level thereof in playing the game, an elevator supported within thehousing in position to contact the feet of all the pegs in theirdepressed position. said elevator being movable upward to restore thepegs to their normal raised position after they have been depressed andto return downward to its initial position by gravity, and a levercontacting the lower face of the elevator for moving it upward.

2. A peg game board comprising a housing having a series of pegreceiving openings arranged in successive groups through its top, aseries of pegs disposed within the housing to move vertically up anddown in said openings, each peg normally having a portion projectingabove the top of the housing and adapted to be depressed substantiallyto the level thereof in playing the game, a strip of material fixedwithin housing to bear frictionally on the sides of the pegs to holdthem temporarily in their normal raised position, an elevator supportedwithin the housing in position to contact the feet of all the pegs intheir depressed position, said elevator being movable upward to restorethe pegs to their normal raised position after they have been depressedand to return downward to its initial position by gravity, and a leverpositioned within the housing to contact the lower face. of the elevatoroperative to. move it upward positively, said lever having an externalhandle.

BERNARD JOSEPH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are Of record in the

